As the army approached, the gates of the Northern King's City were wide open, devoid of any guards, and the city walls were deserted.
An empty city!
The Crown Prince's army halted before the city gates, stunned by the sight of the wide-open gates and the completely empty walls.
This was unexpected; they had considered many possibilities, but never this.
Had they escaped?
Impossible. The scouts had reported that they hadn't left. Was this a feint, or was there an ambush within the city?
But the Crown Prince quickly made a decision: he would send the existing 600,000 troops to attack the city, and send another 200,000 to supervise. If the 600,000 troops didn't fight to the death, they would face the consequences.
He refused to believe that his 800,000 men couldn't defeat the enemy's 200,000 in a desperate battle.
The surrendered generals were deeply resentful, having threatened their families' lives. Meanwhile, the families of the commanders of thousands, tens of thousands, and even some centurions were also being held captive.
These men were fighting for their families, but they no longer felt any gratitude or loyalty towards the Crown Prince; they were only acting out of necessity due to the circumstances.
The Crown Prince felt uneasy for some reason. Despite his side holding a clear advantage, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease.
The 800,000-strong army entered the Northern King's City one after the other, but the city was eerily quiet. There were no ambushes, not even a single person
in sight. Something was amiss. The enemy hadn't retreated, but the absence of anyone clearly indicated foul play.
Coupled with his deep-seated unease, the Crown Prince felt deeply uncomfortable and couldn't think of a solution.
These people had surrendered before, and in his eyes, they were unreliable. He had used their families to coerce them, essentially using them as cannon fodder, hoping they would perish together with the enemy.
He didn't want to return empty-handed. He knew his brother, the Northern King, was formidable in his ability to control people. These people had surrendered to him, and the contrast between their current treatment and his own was stark.
The Crown Prince was certain that given the chance, these people would defect with their families. Therefore, he only had one opportunity to use them; after this, controlling them would be virtually impossible.
Therefore, this time, they must capture the Northern King and make him disappear. If they could also inflict heavy losses on his hundreds of thousands of troops, that would be good too. If successful, the royal family would be secure; thinking about it
this way, it wasn't a bad thing. It was a mixed bag, a matter of fortune and misfortune. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold; there's no such thing as being without danger. For example, the Crown Prince felt a headache coming on if he were in the Northern King's position, with no solution in sight.
Similarly, his own situation wasn't foolproof; it was a 50/50 chance of good or bad. At this point, luck played a crucial role.
They needed to gamble—gamble on the morale of these 600,000 troops, to see which side they leaned towards.
On the surface, these 600,000 troops were coerced by the Crown Prince to attack the Northern King, but they had already surrendered to the Northern King before being released. Now they were being forced to attack him again—this was the second time.
People are made of flesh and blood; they have feelings. Without comparison, there's no harm; but once they compared themselves to the Northern King, they felt like they weren't even human.
Furthermore, the Northern King's reputation was far superior to the Crown Prince's, and his abilities in all aspects were also far better. Otherwise, with so many princes, why would the Crown Prince go to such lengths to persecute one of them? It was
because he feared losing his position as Crown Prince and his future throne, and wanted to eliminate any threat as soon as possible.
Qin Chuan had actually considered many scenarios for this battle. He was currently playing the script: "Capture the leader first," an ability that Long Baobao possessed.
This was a true case of taking the head of a general from a million-strong army as easily as taking something from a bag. This ability was immense; by first eliminating the enemy's commander-in-chief, the enemy would be leaderless and might even collapse.
This was Qin Chuan's last resort, but he didn't want to use it. He hoped to use other methods, naturally targeting the 600,000-strong army.
Gao Deng was the strongest among those 600,000 soldiers, and could be considered their commander. He was currently conflicted and in a daze.
Behind him were 200,000 troops, who were actually sent by the Crown Prince to supervise his men. If they didn't fight, his family could instantly perish.
"Fight," he thought, "we'll use our group as cannon fodder to fight against the Northern King's 200,000-strong army."
But the last battle was still fresh in his mind; his group was utterly powerless against that beautiful golden beast, instantly annihilated.
Even if he had 600,000 or 800,000, it wouldn't matter. Last time, it was only 600,000, and they were easily routed.
If he were killed, the Crown Prince would inevitably be defeated, and given his temperament, he wouldn't spare his family…
He knew that if he were smart, he absolutely couldn't afford to be an enemy of the Northern King. Besides, when they left last time, the Northern King had given them a choice; this time, the choice was still in their hands.
This was already merciful enough. Although it seemed like he had the initiative and the choice, he knew, and was very clear, that he had no choice.
They advanced along the widest main road of the long Northern King's city, and since there was no one along the way, they headed directly for the Northern King's residence.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince grew increasingly uneasy. Suddenly, his expression changed: "This is bad!"
He had been planning to force Gao Deng and his men to fight the Northern Prince's forces together. Although the enemy had someone capable of instantly killing ten thousand men, he believed that as long as they fought to the death against the Northern Prince and his enemies, it would be fine.
However, he suddenly realized a problem: he seemed to have lost control of Gao Deng.
And his 200,000-strong army was about to be lost.
"Send a message to them! Tell them to retreat immediately!" the Crown Prince shouted.
Little did he know that fighting had already begun inside the Northern Prince's palace.
Gao Deng and his men charged directly at the Crown Prince's 200,000 troops. Simultaneously, troops from the Northern Prince's palace appeared behind the Crown Prince's 200,000 troops, creating a pincer attack.
800,000 against 200,000—there was no suspense whatsoever. The battle was swift; within a quarter of an hour, some were dead, others surrendered.
Whoosh!
An arrow pierced the sky, piercing a scout on his way back.
This was a scout sent by the Crown Prince to deliver the message, but by the time he arrived, it was too late. He wanted to run back to report, but the opportunity was gone.
The battle was over. The combined casualties on both sides exceeded 50,000; rivers of blood flowed, limbs were severed—war is cruel, but inevitable.
The few invincible warriors of the Crown Prince's residence had surrendered, so now it was the Northern Prince's turn to attack. This time, they could defeat the Crown Prince in one fell swoop.
The tide had turned; the outcome was sealed.